Mumbai rains: Local trains halted, flights diverted, buses off roads

In the early hours, thousands of commuters leaving for offices were caught unawares on reaching the suburban railway stations as trains were cancelled due to water-logging of tracks following heavy overnight rain.

Heavy rains threw normal life in Mumbai out of gear on Friday, with most local train services cancelled and a few flights diverted to nearby airports.

In the early hours, thousands of commuters leaving for offices were caught unawares on reaching the suburban railway stations as trains were cancelled due to water-logging of tracks following heavy overnight rain.

Services on all three railway lines--Central, Western and Harbour--were cancelled, and harried commuters rushed to catch buses, taxis or any other mode of transport available to reach their destinations, which resulted in massive traffic jams at many places.

With Central Railway cancelling its services on CST-Thane section on the main line and Harbour line as well, commuters got stuck at suburban platforms.

The Western Railway services which were initially running late by 10 to 15 minutes, were later cancelled.

All services are expected to resume as soon as the water level recedes.

The rain effected air traffic as well, as three flights, starting with a Jet airways flight from Chennai at 10:30am, were diverted to nearby Ahmedabad.

"The situation is currently under control but if it continues to rain delays might pile up," said a senior air traffic control (ATC) official requesting anonymity.

Airport officials were also worried about water logging on the airfield. "One end of the main airstrip is prone to flooding," added the official.

Helicopter services were halted as the Juhu airstrip, the country's busiest general aviation facility, was under 3 feet water.

There seems to be no let up in the situation with the meteorological department predicting heavy to very heavy monsoon rains during the day in some areas.

Roads in most parts of Mumbai and its suburbs remained flooded at noon.

According to information given by the control room of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), water-logging is reported in areas like Kurla, Chembur, Tilak Nagar, Andheri, Parel, Lower Parel, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Dombivili.

BEST bus services were affected in most areas because of the waterlogging and many staff members could not report for duty.